Jobseeker Website Accused Of Hosting 'Degrading' Lapdancing Advert

The Huffington Post UK

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LONDON - MAY 03: A woman performs pole tricks during a Polepeople pole dancing class May 3, 2006 in London, England. Since celebrities hailed pole dancing as the latest alternative to aerobics or yoga pole dancing has taken the United Kingdom by storm and has become the latest trend for females getting fit. The classes provide women with the opportunity to develop their upper-body strength and add sparkle to their sex life, while enjoying a female-only atmosphere which they find less regimented

A government website that jobseekers are required to use to look for work has been criticised for advertising vacancies in a club that offers "topless to fully nude dances".

Last night The Universal Jobmatch site hosted positions for the Sugar & Spice American Style Table Dancing club in Norwich. The advert appears to have since been taken down.

Labour MP Stella Creasy told The Independent the fact the site was still featuring such adverts despite an attempt to block them was "degrading".

"No one should be asked to expose themselves in that way or face a sanction [to their benefits]," she said. "Someone in the job centre didn’t think. Even if it was a human error, it means nobody thought, 'What are we doing telling people one way to get off benefits is to become a lap dancer?’ It reveals the culture we still have to deal with, and the way women are portrayed."

The Sugar & Spice club describes itself as offering its customers "a unique experience of quality and professional entertainment". In addition to its main dance stage it also boasts of offering "private dances in our basement booths or on one of dance beds from topless to fully nude".

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "A small number of inappropriate adverts have been posted on Universal Jobmatch and we have introduced additional checks to address this. Where an inappropriate job is identified it is quickly removed."